


Scars of the Heart

by KittyPaw



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin's conflict, Angst and Feels, Anidala angst, Character Study, Delegation of the 2000, Deleted Scenes, F/M, Internal Conflict, Internal Monologue, Manipulative Sheev Palpatine, Missing Scene, Padmé Amidala Needs a Hug, Palpatine can go die in a hole, ROTS deleted scene, and we won't miss him, anidala feels, which always gets us in the feels..., you all know what's coming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29716839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyPaw/pseuds/KittyPaw
Summary: "She was standing with her fellow senators, looking as beautiful as ever in her elegant Senator Amidala dress. She spoke like an angel, the words as elegant as her strides, binding all who listened in a magical spell. And yet, the petition was a confrontation of the figure who had been his closest confidant."~"He was standing behind the Chancellor, the brave and amazing hero that he always was to her - confident and serious, as the war had made him. Yet standing behind the Chancellor, even though he was the leader of the Republic, it still felt as if Anakin was standing on the opposing side."~Standing on opposite sides of the Chancellor's desk during the presentation of the petition of the 2000 feels a little too much like being on opposite sides of a much larger issue.[ROTS deleted scene]
Relationships: Padmé Amidala & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Sheev Palpatine & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	1. Anakin Skywalker's POV

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NorthPointSkatingAcademy_figure_skater](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthPointSkatingAcademy_figure_skater/gifts).



> For those of you who haven't seen this deleted scene:
> 
> https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xs2gof
> 
> It really hit me in the feels and I had to write it from their perspectives. Chapter one will be from Anakin's POV, and Chapter two from Padmé's POV. It's the same scene, the one from the link above.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

"I understand your reservations Senator, but I assure you the appointment of governors will in no way compete with the duties of the Senate."

"May I take it then that there will be no further amendments to the constitution?" said Senator Amidala, in the Senator Amidala voice that Anakin and few others knew was simply a persona she donned for politics.

She was standing with her fellow senators, looking as beautiful as ever in her elegant Senator Amidala dress. She spoke like an angel, the words as elegant as her strides, binding all who listened in a magical spell. And yet, the petition was a confrontation of the figure who had been his closest confidant.

Anakin couldn't bring herself to think that the Chancellor had any ill will for the Republic. The Delegation of the 2000 had a valid concern, and yet Anakin felt defensive at the idea that the might not trust the Chancellor fully to do the right thing.

"I want this terrible conflict to end just as much as you do, my lady. And when it does, I guaruntee an immediate return to democracy." Perfectly spoken. The Chancellor had this under control - and surely, after this meeting, Padmé would understand that.

"You are pursuing a diplomatic solution to the war then?"

"You must trust me to do the right thing, Senator."

That was what Anakin knew his wife was lacking: Trust in the Chancellor. He _would_ do the right thing. Anakin loved Padmé with all of his heart. But he did wish that she could see what he did. She didn't know Chancellor Palpatine the way he did. Didn't understand what a good person he was, and how good his politics were. He could be trusted to do the right thing.

"That is why I am here," the Chancellor continued.

"But surely -"

"I _said_ , I'll do what is right. That should be enough for your... committee."

And it should be.

Anakin would talk to his angel that night. He would make sure she understood. The Chancellor was a good man.

He watched as she stood up - as elegant as ever - and spoke. "On behalf of the Delegation of the 2000... I thank you, Chancellor."

"I thank you for bringing this to my attention, Senator."

But Anakin was still looking at her.

She was still as beautiful as ever.

As beautiful and regal as she had always been.

Her eyes skirted over to him and they made eye contact. The fleeting look seemed almost to ask for validation - as if she was looking to him for clarification that he was on her side.

He had to remind himself that these were not opposing sides, or teams. Everyone in this room was working for the good of the Republic.

Anakin looked down at the floor, his eye's leaving hers. They couldn't afford to share any longer of a lingering, meaningful gaze. He sensed her look away as well, before she and the rest of her committee walked out of the room.

Anakin made his way around the desk. He somehow sensed that he and the Chancellor were going to talk about this.

"Their sincerity is to be admired," the Chancellor saida cautiously - almost calculatingly, making Anakin even more interested in what his next words would be. "Though I sense there is more to their request then they are telling us."

Anakin's eyes skirted over to where the Chancellor was still watching the senators' shadows walk away.

Telling _us_. Anakin didn't like the way it appeared to presume two opposite sides: He and the Chancellor, versus his wife and her friends in the Senate. He didn't want to read too far into the words though. So he simply said, "What do you mean?"

"They're not to be trusted."

Anakin's insides tightened. That was _exactly_ what he was doing - showing that there _were_ two teams, and that his wife was on the other side. That didn't make him feel good inside. Surely his wife would never do anything that wasn't strictly for the good of the Republic.

"Surely Senator Amidala can be trusted," he said. He masked his emotion, as always, trying to do as a good Jedi would. But had he allowed himself to speak in any way that wasn't as calm and collected as he possibly could, his tone would have been defensive.

"These are unstable times for the Republic, Anakin. Some see instability as an opportuniy."

Not Padmé!

"Senator Amidala is hiding something."

He _did_ think that Padmé was one of those people. A person who would see instability in the Republic and take it as an opportunity.

But Anakin _knew_ his angel. He knew that she loved the Republic and democracy more than anything else, save himself and their unborn child.

"I can see it in her eyes."

Anakin knew that his Jedi senses had to be more trustworthy than however good the Chancellor may be at reading eyes. Still, he looked away, contemplating this. The last thing he needed was another internal conflict.

These days it almost felt like every conflict inside of him felt like it was between his life - the things that made him Anakin Skywalker - and the Chancellor. Either he was to trust the Jedi, or the Chancellor. And now, he could trust his wife, or the Chancellor. He knew the Chancellor was a good man, and that only good things could come from trusting him. but it was hard to believe that everyone else in his life could be hiding something from him. The people he loved - and the people he thought wanted the best for him.

"I'm sure you're mistaken." He had to hang on to the hope that the Chancellor, as good and wise as he was, had made a simple human mistake - a miscalculation about Senator Amidala.

Padmé.

"I'm surprised your Jedi insights are not more sensitive to such things?" He toned it like a question. Palpatine was clearly asking him to reflect on what he felt from Padmé. And it was anything but betrayal.

"I simply don't sense betrayal in Senator Amidala." This time he let some of his defensiveness slip through, though he did attempt to keep his tone and face and neutral as possible.

"Or you don't seem to want to admit it."

It was a punch to the gut.

Maybe he _would_ sense betrayal in her if he didn't love her with all of his heart. _That_ was what the Chancellor was implying.

But there was no way...

"There is much conflict in you, Anakin."

Yes. There was.

Even the Chancellor managed to sense it - and he didn't even have the Force.

Surely he could understand why Anakin didn't want to choose between everything he loved and his mentor.


	2. Padmé Amidala's POV

"I understand your reservations Senator, but I assure you the appointment of governors will in no way compete with the duties of the Senate."

"May I take it then that there will be no further amendments to the constitution?" Padmé was, in this moment, Senator Amidala. A part of her that was necessary to show in this moment, as she presented the petition of 2000 to the Chancellor.

"I want this terrible conflict to end just as much as you do, my lady. And when it does, I guaruntee an immediate return to democracy."

She knew he was saying that.

But was it true?

Her eyes flicked over to where her husband stood behind the desk.

He was standing behind the Chancellor, the brave and amazing hero that he always was to her - confident and serious, as the war had made him. Yet standing behind the Chancellor, even though he was the leader of the Republic, it still felt as if Anakin was standing on the opposing side.

He wasn't a politician. In fact, his relationship with the Chancellor was simply a friendship. Palpatine had become a mentor figure to Anakin, but none of that meant that he should be present here. Why _was_ he present here?

The Chancellor wanted him there. Padmé loved and trusted Anakin, but she was older than he was, and those five years had brought her a certain amount of wisdom. Anakin could naïve at times, and she wondered if he was _too_ trusting of the Chancellor. Did Palpatine want him there simply because he knew Anakin would believe every word he said? Wasn't that morally questionable?

Never did Padmé - _Senator Amidala_ \- ever think that she would be questioning the leader of the Republic like this.

"You are pursuing a diplomatic solution to the war then?"

"You must trust me to do the right thing, Senator."

And that was why Anakin was there, Padmé knew. That was why he had been invited.

But Padmé knew that if the Chancellor of the Republic said that he wanted to conflict to end and for diplomacy to resume, it was best to believe him. The chances were that he truly did want what was best for the Republic.

"That is why I am here," the Chancellor continued.

"But surely -"

"I _said_ , I'll do what is right. That should be enough for your... committee."

That sentence didn't sit well with her.

Still, this had been the attempt at getting the Chancellor to see that what he was doing went against their democracy. But in a way, he _had_ acknowledged that. He had said that once he got the fighting to stop, there would be a "immediate return to democracy."

He was aware that this was not the amount of power he should hold. He knew that this was not exactly democracy.

But if he truly loved democracy as he claimed, then as soon as the war was over - which would hopefully be soon - this would all be over and he would demonstrate that he was ready to relinquish his power.

So she stood up. "On behalf of the Delegation of the 2000... I thank you, Chancellor."

"I thank you for bringing this to my attention, Senator."

It was the polite thing to say. But maybe there was truth to it. Perhaps the Chancellor was indeed grateful to have noticed this, and it would cause him to move the war forward.

And yet...

Her eyes skirted over towards Anakin, who still stood behind the Chancellor. She begged him with her eyes to understand her side as well, and not jump to the conclusion that Palpatine could never be wrong.

Anakin acknowledged her and looked down. She looked away as well. They could not be caught demonstrating that they had a deeper relationship with each other than the other senators in the room.

His look at the floor looked almost apologetic, though. As if he was ashamed to admit that they were on opposite sides. And yet they _weren't_.

Everyone in that room presumably had only the good of the Republic on their minds.

There was no reason for her to feel like she and Anakin were on opposite teams because of this. She could speak with him tonight.

With that, she and her fellow senators walked out of the room after a courteous nod towards the Chancellor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Anakin walking closer to him, and she shut her eyes in a silent prayer to any powers out there listening that the Chancellor would not try to convince him that she and her friends in the senate were in any way _wrong_.

The last thing she wanted was a divide between her and the person she loved the most in the galaxy.


End file.
